Transcript Is this a Service Animal

Service & Emotional Support
Animals
Presented by REAL CLASS INC.
What is a Service Animal

Service animals are defined as dogs that are
individually trained to do work or perform
tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of
such work or tasks include guiding people
who are blind, alerting people who are deaf,
pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a
person who is having a seizure, reminding a
person with mental illness to take
prescribed medications, calming a person
with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
during an anxiety attack, or performing
other duties
What is a Service Animal

Service animals are working animals, not
pets. The work or task a dog has been
trained to provide must be directly
related to the person’s disability. Dogs
whose sole function is to provide comfort
or emotional support do not qualify as
service animals under the ADA.
Changes in the Federal Law

The Department of Justice amended
portions of the ADA that went into affect
March 15th 2011
◦ Dogs that are not trained to perform tasks
that mitigate the effects of a disability,
including dogs that are used purely for
emotional support, are not service animals
◦ The rule permits the use of trained miniature
horses as alternatives to dogs, subject to
certain limitations.
What is a Service Animal


Service Miniature Horse
In addition to the provisions about service dogs,
the Department of Justices revised ADA
regulations have a new, separate provision about
miniature horses that have been individually
trained to do work or perform tasks for people
with disabilities.
What you CAN and CANNOT ask

A Business May Ask
◦ Is this a Service Animal ?
◦ What Task Does this Service Animal Provide
• Businesses MAY NOT:
•
•
•
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Require Special Identification for the Animal
Ask the Persons Disability
Charge Additional Fees
Refuse Admittance, isolate, segregate or treat less
favorably.
What you CAN do….

A person with a Disability cannot be
asked to remove the service animal
UNLESS:
◦ The animal is out of control and the owner does
not take effective action to control it
◦ The animal possesses a direct threat to the
health and safety of others
What is an Emotional Support
Animal (ESA)

An Emotional Support Animal is a dog or other
common domestic animal that provides
therapeutic support to a disabled or elderly
owner through companionship, non-judgmental
positive regard, affection, and a focus in life. If a
doctor determines that a patient with a disabling
mental illness would benefit from the
companionship of an emotional support animal,
the doctor write letters supporting a request by
the patient to keep the ESA in "no pets" housing
or to travel with the ESA in the cabin of an
aircraft.
What is an Emotional Support
Animal (ESA)
ESAs are not task trained like service
dogs
 Little training at all is required so long as
the animal is reasonably well behaved by
pet standards.
 This means the animal is fully toilet
trained and has no bad habits that would
disturb neighbors such is frequent or
lengthy episodes of barking.

What is an Emotional Support
Animal (ESA)
It is important to note that having a
diagnosis of a mental illness, by itself, is
not sufficient to qualify a person for an
ESA unless that illness is so severe it
disables them.
 Only a judge can truly determine whether
a person is legally disabled
 a doctor can probably make a medical
determination of a person's disability and
on that basis prescribe an ESA

What is an Emotional Support
Animal (ESA)
Service Animals are task trained
 ESA’s don’t have to be trained
 There is a difference between an ESA and a
Psychiatric Service Animal (PSA)
 "I can't go out alone because of social
phobia; my dog makes me feel safe
enough to go out to the grocery store
and other places I need to go." This
describes an emotional support animal,
not a psychiatric service animal.

Hawaii “Assistance Animal”
Hawaii Administrative Rules 20
 Subchapter 20 (Real Property
Transaction Discrimination)

Hawaii “Assistance Animal”

“Assistance animal” means an animal that is
needed to perform disability-related work,
services or tasks for the benefit of a person
with a disability, or is needed to provide
emotional support that alleviates one or
more identified symptoms or effects of a
person’s disability. Assistance animals may
include, but are not limited to, service
animals, therapy animals, comfort animals or
emotional support animals. Assistance
animals may have formal training or may be
untrained, any may include species other than
dogs.
Hawaii “Assistance Animal”

§12-46-306 Discrimination on the
basis of disability.(a) It is a
discriminatory practice for an owner
or any other person engaging in a real
estate transaction, or for a real estate
broker or salesperson:
Hawaii “Assistance Animal”

(1) To refuse to engage in a real estate
transaction or to deny equal opportunity to use
and enjoy a housing accommodation with a
person with a disability because the person uses
an assistance animal. If the disability is not
readily apparent, an owner or other person
engaging in a real estate transaction may request
information that verifies that the person has a
disability, defined as a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits a major life
activity. However, an owner or other person
engaging in a real estate transaction may not
request medical records or access to health care
providers, and may not inquire as to the diagnosis,
nature or severity of the person’s disability
Hawaii “Assistance Animal”

If the disability-related need for an assistance
animal is not readily apparent, an owner or other
person engaging in a real estate transaction may
request verification that the assistance animal is
needed to alleviate one or more symptoms of the
person’s disability. Verification may be provided
by a letter or other communication from the
person’s treating health care professional, mental
health professional, or social worker. Reasonable
restrictions or prohibitions may be imposed upon
the person with a disability regarding excessive
noise or other problems caused by those animals
including, but not limited to:
Hawaii “Assistance Animal”

(A) Observing applicable laws, including leash laws and pickup laws;

(B) Assuming responsibility for damage caused by the animal;

(C) Cleaning the housing unit upon vacating, by fumigation,
deodorizing, professional carpet cleaning, or other appropriate
methods;

(D) Cleaning the animal’s waste;

(E) Having the animal licensed with the county, if licensing is
required by the county;

(F) Having the animal vaccinated with documentation of the
vaccination;
Hawaii “Assistance Animal”

(G) Having the animal under the control of
the animal’s owner or handler by use of
harness, leash, tether, cage, carrier, or other
physical control in common areas. If the
nature of the person’s disability makes
physical control impracticable, or if physical
control would interfere with the assistance
that the animal provides, the owner or other
person engaging in a real estate transaction
may require that the animal be otherwise
under the control of the animal’s owner or
handler by voice control, signals, or other
effective means; or
Hawaii “Assistance Animal”
Any other reasonable restriction that would
leave the housing accommodation in the
condition it was in prior to the occupancy of
the tenant with a disability, except for
reasonable wear and tear;
 To refuse to make reasonable
accommodations in rules, policies, practices,
or services, when such accommodations may
be necessary to afford a person with a
disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy
a housing accommodation, including public
and common use areas

Hawaii “Assistance Animal”
Request for Reasonable
Accommodation/modification
 Verification of need for
Accommodation/Modification
 Model House Rules Regarding
Assistance Animals

Problems !!
Websites Selling Vests, Certificates etc.
 Health Care Professionals
 Lack of Understanding the difference
between “Service Animals” and
Emotional Support
 Abuse of the system

Problems !!

Next Step…..Emotional Support
Animal on Medical Marijuana